Universal Property & Casualty InsuranceReviews of universalproperty.com

In December we discovered a slow leak - originating from piping under the slab and coming up between the walls - it evidently had been going on undetected for a while because we had black mold - affected two bedrooms, a bathroom, hallway, closets and part of the kitchen. The first adjuster estimated about $14K in damages - and we got a check for $7K - the estimates we got from three contractors to just repair the home ranged from $90K to $120K - After two months of trying to get an update from the adjuster, the claim was assigned to another adjuster (they use third party adjusters) another 7 weeks went by with better communication but no resolution. We were able to get the work done for less than the lowest bid - yet no reimbursement from Universal so far. In fact per customer service, no new information has been updated in the file. We are out nearly $70K just to rebuild our home and no response from Universal's upper management to my call. Avoid this company like the plague!

Im leaving this review on 2/2/2022 for Universal Ins.Co. due to a claim opened on 09/09/2020 for water damage to my home. That’s almost 2yrs ago and it still isn’t settled! Universal are COMPLETE CROOKS! Their business practices reek of corruption. You can read hundreds and hundreds of BBB complaints on them; hundreds of complaints with review sites like this and even with the states Insurance Regulatory Department in all the states they cover. For reference on my claim- A water line to my refrigerator ruptured causing significant water damage to our home. It damaged all the flooring in 4 rooms; Our Kitchen, Dining Area, Living Room and Bakers Pantry (a 12x12 room with large baking tables), it also damaged the baseboards in those same 4 rooms, it warped the door leading out to our garage, all the rugs in those 4 rooms and it shorted out my kitchen range/oven. And since the water damage has not been repaired now there is black mold through out our house! In our cabinets, A/C, walls and pantry shelves. The mold report states our home is “unlivable.” 2 weeks after the claim was opened Universal sent out an adjuster that was *extremely* inexperienced. He over looked or blatantly ignored 90% of the damage and sent us a check for $9,000 just 4 days later. He also immediately closed the claim hoping I was just a clueless retiree and ignorant about Insurance & Insurance Law. Fortunately, I’m a retired Claims Adjuster and knew the repairs couldn’t be made for 10 times the amount they offered. And that doesn’t even factor in the cost of moving, storage & temporary housing while the repairs are being done. All those costs are covered though homeowners policies. But again, they tried to con me thinking I didn’t know better. But I did! So after months & months of going back & forth with many different adjusters and never getting a call back I contacted my states Department of Insurance. To which they blatantly lied to and said it was now being handled properly by a Supervisor and would be “properly settled” in a matter of days. Needless to say— it wasn’t. After I didnt receive a follow up call from the “Supervisor” or a check after 2 weeks I them contacted an Attorney to file suit! And thats where we are. Do, If your home is insured with Universal or you’re considering using them, PLEASE read all the reviews available online before doing so! If you’re already insured by Universal and you’re in Florida and having a problem with them, call the Florida Department of Insurance to file a complaint and get help with mediation. If you’re still unsatisfied… SUE THEM!! In Florida it doesn’t cost you a penny. Florida law is that If you don’t recover there are no Attorney fees and if you do recover Universal is responsible for the attorney fees!

I put in a claim on 9/1/2021. We had torrential rain in my area from Hurricane Ida. My basement filled with water so quickly my sump pump could not pump all the water out as quickly as it was coming in, eventually my pump did expel all of the water , but we did have damages to the basement, including a damaged oil boiler. I called Universal they assured me someone will be in contact with me within 24 to 48 hrs. Didn't happed. The adjuster did not come to 14 days later. Wrote up the hurricane damage and submitted it. Some man Robert Smith called my home to tell me my limit on my policy is 5,000, but they will pay for the gutters and deck repair. I looked at my policy and the only 5,000 limit was sump pump failure. I called back and sure enough the representative did say I had water back up due to a broken sump pump. That was changed to that because my sump pump was not broken and still is not broken. The rep on the phone put me on hold to speak to Mr. Smith or a supervisor and could not get either. I have a report mailed to me from the insurance company that says loss due to Hurricane, They have some explaining to do and if it is not to my satisfactory ,I will be obtaining an attorney!

For Universal Property do not pick this Insurance Company with Warning,this is about to Shayla Jackson,I sent her a Dispute letter 1 and a Dispute Letter 2 inside the Universal Property website Danial Dobbs that lied about, I had a sewage backup because he got mad, because I told his Supervisior Mr. Zimmerman on him, he was not during his job, he was not setting up appointment for Inspection for over a month, when I called him, it should not have taken 2 months to set up an appointment, but Mr. Zimmerman was not right either, he is crockett too. Shayla Jackson the Supervisior 3/9/21 said, after she lied in told me to send in to get a Certified Mold Mitigation Man to tell what cause the Mold and Ap Property about what cause the Mold and Proof of Sewage Backup and I did and sent it to her and into the Universal Property website, then Shayla Jackson the Supervisior is going to ask ,the concern which Danial Dobbs, why it took him so long to come out their to inspect my house?.I had already sent that in the Rebuttal letter and Dispute, she was trying to play like she did not know, because she did not want to pay me any money and didn’t. The Adjusters Danial Dobbs and Sandrayl Apointe terrible they lied, and I sent them Documents and Pictures of that already in the past a months 3 ago for a Dispute Universal Property and with Office of Commission I filed a Complaint Against Universal Property 3/15/21 a terrible Insurance Company, who takes your money every month and then when something happens, they don’t pay you, the only little check I got was $1,656.00 from the first Claim, that don’t cover Mold, which the owe me $6,467.00 for that, they did not pay me. Because I need to get the Mold out of my house first and off of the wall that is in the back of my Water Heater and also on my Stand that the Water Heater sits on and order to put a New Water Heater, the Mold will have to be removed from my place and a stand to be removed and rebuilt, so I can put my Water Heater on. And everything else I sent them already in the past 3 months ago for a Dispute and the Mold Mitigation man Dwayne did too and I sent them the information they sent me and when Danial Dobbs the terrible inspector came and everybody else came, there was no Water in both tubs and when I ran the water, it went straight down very easily and all the people who came here to my house, I ran the water for them and they saw it too out, because I sent Shayla Jackson the terrible Supervisior and her Manager Mr. Garby he terrible too and want pay you, the proof 3/4/21 from a Plummer that exactly what I sent what she needed and she got it, there was no Sewage Backup. It is for Shayla Jackson, the Supervisior to pay me, for both Claims GA20-0105842 and GA19-0101762 for Mold Mitiagation $6,467.00 to get the Mold out of my house, she never paid me, which she owe me and also for AP Property from Contractor $6,200.00 for GA20-0105842, she never paid me for, which she owe me for that .And additional Supplements for both Claims if needed. And also the terrible Adjusters Mr. Sterling and Denise William they try to play like they will help you, they are not trying to help you at all and they all will lie. Mold is still on my back Wall and the back of my Water Heater in my Garage and Stand it is Mold and they expect me to put a Hot water heater on top of it and also their is a Mold in my Bathrooms where the wall, up under my sink and in the back and on my Walls and Floors and Universal Property has not fixed it yet, I called a Plummer man out here and he said, your Insurance Company suppose to handle this, you have Mold in your house, it has been 2 year for the 1st Claim and that happen June 2019 and the 2nd Claim and that happen the end of October of 2020, it has been 8 months of Mold in my house. And I filed a Complaint against Universal Property with Office of Commission and Universal Property Christina Hanley they are still trying to make up lies, now they are lying and saying I had a damage pipe which I never had a damage pipe. And all those lies they are telling, all of this is going to hunt them, because when they lie God see’s everything and whatever they do to someone else someone is going to turn around and do it to them, they have not seen nothing yet and they are going down, they will weep, weep dearly what they have sown all of them and it will be a much greater pain, then what they did to me and other people as well do not pick this Insurance Company with Warning.

My claim experience with this company has been the worst of any insurance company I have ever dealt with and I was in Loss Control for my company for 20+ years, so I know a little bit about the subject... I wouldn't say the claim value was significant enough to warrant the delays in payments that I have experienced since I first filed in October of 2020. It is hard to get anyone on the phone who can tell you anything more than it is still "in progress" or "it's under review". Unfortunately with insurance, you never really know what you have until you go to use it. This company has acknowledge their claim responsibility, made a partial payment (less depreciation), which they say is recoverable with proof of repairs. Initial claim adjuster's estimate was off by enough that I had to file for supplemental loss reimbursement. All of this adds up to a painfully slow process. I needed to get my home put back together, so went ahead with repairs and hoping for the best. I feel bad for anyone who doesn't have the financial resources to do this (without prompt payment from Universal), as it seems to be their method of operation. God forbid Florida has another major Hurricane, I'm not so sure this place would be financially strong enough to handle the claims. Or, even if it didn't put them out of business, they could easily drag settlements out for years. In fairness, I will say that this claim finally was paid nearly 10 months after the loss event, for the actual expenses incurred (less my deductible). It did take my insurance agent, the owner of the insurance agency and my own additional efforts to make this happen. Homeowners - please learn from these reviews and seek better insurance elsewhere.

I had a flooding at the end of August this year. They said a check was cut on September 7th. I am still waiting for it. Three months without kitchen cabinets, and the unit below totally thrashed is not as bad as dealing with this company which will bring a substantial amount of aggravation during the process that will make think that your incident it was not that bad after all. Terrible communications, procrastinators, (they even sent the adjuster exactly 7 days after the incident! I could have had everything fixed in 7 days!). I owned my first property at 21, I am 65, I have dealt with several insurance companies during 44 yrs., this is one of the worse I ever seen. The BBB publishes 153 reviews (154 with mine). NONE IS GOOD. NOT A SINGLE ONE. THE HAVE A ROCK SOLID 1 (one ) STAR....that's telling you something.

If I could give NEGATIVE stars I would! This company is by far the worst company to work with in regards to a claim. They take their time, low ball you and then force you to sign for a final settlement WITHOUT them providing you a breakdown of what they are paying. It has been MONTHs and we are still waiting. TAKE MY ADVICE - get another company for your homeowners insurance.

Horrible customer experience, little to no communication. Very slow to respond and no proactive updates on their part. I am in area that was hit by a severe hail storm, visible damage via the tar pebbles now covering my patio and the company said there was zero evidence of any storm event in my area. We have video evidence of 1" + hail coming down?